Each month, Business Solutions reports news on business in the channel. This month in point of sale, payment processing and data collection news, Datacap Systems and Pivotal Payments announce an integration, RapidFire Tools unveils PCI compliance testing, Vantiv and Ingenico unveil an EMV payment terminal for SMBs, Janam announces a new mobile computer, Benseron announces new tablet POS solutions, Datalogic announces two, new fixed scanners, Ingram Micro introduces an EMV playbook and bundle, and the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) has received an appointment to the 2015-2017 PCI Security Standards Council Board of Advisors.

Although PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) 3.0 went into effect at the beginning of the year, some elements of the standard were designated “best practices” until they would become mandatory on June 30. In addition to requirements your merchant IT clients need to ensure they comply with in a few weeks, there are also soon-to-become requirements that directly affect you. You will need to provide your merchant IT clients that the solutions and services you provide are in compliance with PCI DSS.

Social engineering and spear phishing emails are being actively used to target employees who have access to payment applications, virtual terminals, and electronic cash registries, according to cybersecurity experts.

Google introduced Android Pay several days ago at its I/O developer conference. The Android Official Blog states mobile carriers, payment networks, banks, and retailers came together to develop the mobile wallet, and it offers “developers an open platform to collective push mobile payments forward.”

In this exclusive interview, Amaha Selassie, VP of channel sales for UP Solution, tells Business Solutions how retail IT VARs can explain the ROI of loyalty solutions to their merchant clients, as well as the benefits of adding a gift card program.

The shift of liability for fraudulent payment card transactions scheduled for October 1, 2015, means that if retailers are not compliant with EMV by that date, then they will be liable for those transactions, instead of the issuing bank. New research from IHL Group has found, however, that most retailers will never recoup the expenses related to EMV. IHL added up the cost of compliance as well as the additional time transactions will take and additional labor costs, and concludes the average ROI for EMV for a $1 billion specialty store is -77 percent.

Oftentimes, I’ll hear VARs say that they’re a trusted advisor to their retail customers. That might be the case. However, I want to plant the seed today and ask you if you’re really doing all you can to advise your customers. You may be trusted, no doubt, but are you doing the absolute best job possible advising your customers about the latest technologies, business-enhancing solutions, threats, and opportunities?

Each month, Business Solutions reports news on business in the channel. This month in point of sale, payment processing and data collection news, Mercury Payment Systems and Datacap partner to offer an as-a-Service bundle, Powa Technologies announces Worldpay Integration, Janam Technologies introduces an RFID reader for freight and rail, and SATO launches a 6-inch thermal printer. In addition, Posiflex announces a hybrid tablet terminal, Zebra Technologies has created its first multi-operating system RFID sled, Verifone announces TransFirst certification and an Android-based cloud solution, and Datalogic has introduced a new mobile computer and queue-busting app.